CITU state committee secy’s nephew joins TMC

Dealing a major blow to CITU a day ahead of their bandh, Pratik Dasgupta the nephew of secretary of the Left trade union’s state committee Dipak Dasgupta joined Trinamool Congress in Howrah.

In a programme organised by the Trinamool Congress Trade Union at Howrah Station, the party’s president in Howrah Town, Arup Roy handed over a party’s flag to Dasgupta, who had been a well known face of CITU in the district for the past many years. Lakshmi Ratan Shukla, Trinamool Congress MLA from Howrah North Assembly constituency was also present in the programme.

Interestingly he left CITU and became a part of the Trinamool Congress family in the dais of the programme that was organised to protest against the bandh called by the Left trade unions.

Many other CITU workers joined Trinamool Congress along with Dasgupta. Roy said that they joined the party to work following the path shown by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. “They want to be a part of the development taking place in the state,” said Roy.

Joining of Dasgupta in Trinamool Congress has come as a major blow to the party when its leadership was desperately trying to make Friday’s bandh successful.

Sources said that the CITU leadership in Howrah would discuss that why Dasgupta suddenly took the decision of joining Trinamool Congress despite working as an active leader of the Left trade union for so many years.

This is not the first time when the Left Front has received such a blow in Howrah. Ahead of the Assembly election, more than 50 CPI(M) workers led by their senior leader from Pilkhana in Howrah Md Mehmood had joined Trinamool Congress.

The move by their leader and workers just a few days ahead of the Assembly elections had left the CPI(M) leadership in the district in a embarrassing situation. The erosion took place when the district leadership had been claiming that the party’s position was better compared to that of as in 2011.